Dismantling Summer
by Mattycollns13
Summary: Sequel to Failures. With Becky in the hospital and out of No Mercy, Dean reflects on their friendship and what it means to have a friend in this business.


Dean didn't even bother to change out of his sweat-drenched clothes after his triple threat match for the title at No Mercy. He had sat at ringside for a few moments after the match and let himself feel sorry for the situation he was in. He hadn't gotten pinned but he still didn't have his title back. But it was soon replaced by the worry he had felt before the match.

Becky wasn't there tonight. She was in the hospital with a bad case of pneumonia. He knew it was better than having an in ring injury, as she wouldn't be out for long, nor would it affect her long term, but he was still worried nonetheless. He had been since yesterday when she had called him and told him that she wouldn't be at the live event in Portland cause she was feeling under the weather. Leave it to Becky to undersell a sickness that had killed some people. He didn't even know she was in the hospital until she'd already been checked out and laid up in a bed.

He picked himself up and staggered to the back. He immediately went through the gorilla position to get to the locker room. He grabbed his bag, threw on his leather jacket again and cleaned up his area. Usually Becky harped on him to pick up after himself in the locker room, but he liked to tease her about it. Ultimately, he'd always help her clean up their area because he wasn't a dick, and he loved his friend. She'd never know that he spent his time doing this tonight, but that didn't matter. Doing this made him feel closer to her, even though she wasn't here.

He could already feel himself sinking down without her here. They were pretty much codependent when it came to backstage. This business was a dog eat dog world and having someone that was there for you no matter what was incredibly rare, and Becky and Dean had grown used to spending almost every second together. Not having her here was taking its effect on him and he couldn't say he enjoyed the feeling to much. He'd been acting strong for Becky's sake when she had called and said she wouldn't be making it, but he was already starting to unravel without her there the last couple of days. Thank God for Renee or he'd be losing his mind right now.

As he cleaned up, the monitor he had set up showed the next match. Nikki Bella vs. Carmella. Before he met Becky, he wouldn't have even paid attention to the match, but she had instilled in him the work ethic to watch the matches when he could. He had a huge amount of respect for the Bella, though he'd never admit it out loud. She'd come back from a pretty heinous neck injury to look better than ever. Becky had been feuding with Nikki a lot of last year, especially before she met Dean, so Dean figured Becky wouldn't like her too much. It was the opposite, however. Becky had been hugely impressed with Nikki and it had rubbed off on Dean.

Becky had explained it to him over drinks last year before WrestleMania when he asked how she felt about all the Divas, and the belt itself. She had admitted she hated the look of the belt and the term, but the girls in the locker room were nowhere near Divas. They all pushed themselves. Even people who the fans said were the epitome of what the term Diva meant like the Bellas or Eva Marie still worked out and tried to get better.

Dean's view had been skewed before that. He had figured that the main roster was the poison for female wrestlers. Paige had been a badass down in NXT, but came up to the main roster, ran into resistance, and eventually got sucked into Total Divas. Dean thought that having three women who had the work ethic like that, Sasha, Charlotte, and Becky would be the saving grace of the division. Becky had set him straight. They weren't the saving graces of the division. They were simply hard workers who had been given time to change people's minds. A lot of the other "Divas" would showcase skill if given the same time. Becky would love to take credit for that in her career, but she was also fighting for women's wrestling as a whole.

Dean's mind had been shifted that night. He paid more attention to the "Divas" matches, even from the women that he had thought wouldn't be worth his attention. He had been quite surprise to see a good array of skill about most of the women's wrestlers. Even the ones who might not have been on Becky's level showed great potential and improvement over time. He almost felt like he needed to make the rounds and apologize to them. Almost. He figured if he just watched their matches now, that'd be better than an apology. It's what the wanted from everyone anyway.

He watched Nikki finally get some semblance of revenge on Carmella, but damn, that Code of Silence looked brutal. Dean wouldn't want to be trapped in that with no way out. He picked up his bag and began to walk down the busy hallway. He was leaving early. He was going to fly to Orlando to see Becky in the hospital before having to fly out for the live event tomorrow and Smackdown on Tuesday. She wasn't going to be on the road with him for a month, and he needed to see her in person to know she was okay. Maybe it wasn't the most professional thing he'd ever done, but Becky was important. Important enough to skip out for once and hit a late flight, as he'd already ordered his ticket earlier that night.

He threw his bag over his shoulder and passed gorilla. He saw Nikki Bella sitting in a chair, holding her neck, but with a pleased smile on her face. A trainer was checking on her, but she didn't seem too worried. Dean actually stopped and cleared his throat causing Nikki to look up at him.

"Good match, Bella. "

She looked stunned he was actually talking to her. "Uh, thanks Dean." He nodded back with respect before he continued his walk. He pulled out his phone to see about a thousand messages from Becky telling him not to fly overnight for her sake. He'd read them on the plane, as he blatantly did what she said not to. Oh the irony.

"I knew you weren't the workhorse you claimed to be Ambrose. Leaving early, not very becoming of a former champion."

Dean had to clench his fists and count to five before he turned. "Cena. Don't you have a cereal commercial to be at or something?"

John was leaning against the wall next to the door. "Even if I did, I wouldn't go to it until after the show. All that stuff you talked about in the ring and you're leaving early."

Dean finally spun on him. "Because some things are more important, Johnny boy." Dean grabbed his phone clicking the button to show his wallpaper. It was a picture of him, Becky and Renee. Becky and Renee were making funny faces while Dean was actively trying not to smile. "People are more important. I got my best friend in a hospital in Orlando that could really use me right now. While you are here waiting to prove me wrong, while your girl is in there getting her neck looked at and just won a match she's been trying to have with Carmella for months since she's been back. Since Carmella's been making her life a living hell." He glared at the other man who was looking at him wide eyed. "So, unless you got a crush on me, Cena, you should be in there taking care of someone who is allegedly important to you."

Dean didn't wait for a response as he was saved by an incoming Facetime call from Becky. He showed John the phone again and gave him a mock curtsy, "Now, if you'll excuse me your highness, I have to go actually take care of the people who matter to me. Don't worry I'll still be there tomorrow to kick your lazy part time ass at the live event that you actually showed up for. Provided your schedule doesn't fill up before then." He opened the door to the parking garage and made his way to his car.

As he answered the call he smiled, despite Becky looking like crap with dark circles under her eyes and being paler than usual, she still looked concerned. "Dean, I saw your match, you alright?"

Dean looked back at the still stunned face of John Cena as the door closed on him. He turned back to Becky and grinned, "I'm alright, Irish. I got the people I care about most. Better than any title."

She frowned at the mention of title. Wow, Dean thought to himself, way to go bringing up titles. He sighed, "It's been eating at you hasn't it?"

She nodded, "I just couldn't wait for us to get a belt. I wanted to make it the best belt. I wanted to make it more prestigious than the one on RAW. This match would have been the start of it. I let everyone down. I let the belt down, I let the company down, I let you down, hell, I even let myself down."

"Becky," Dean started, not really knowing how to put words to the way he was feeling, "You are going to have lots of title opportunities, and defenses, cause you're gonna win it a lot." He saw her smile at this, but continued. "I think you'll be a Hall of Famer someday, and I'm not just saying that. But the only way you can prove me right, and make that belt THE belt, is to focus on getting better and back to one hundred percent."

She smiled as she wiped away some unshed tears. She could be emotional like that sometimes, but she schooled her features and raised an eyebrow at him, "What brought on this affection, not that I don't appreciate it."

Dean shrugged, getting into his car and shutting the door. "Just got reminded how much you mean to me, Irish. Plus, you're like dying over there so I felt you could use some love before you croaked."

She glared playfully at him. "Oh hush up. I'm fine." This point really lost its argument when she coughed directly after it, then looked at him through the camera with the most pitiful look. "I know I said don't come, but I could really use you."

Dean smiled, "I'm on my way, Irish. Don't worry I can spend the night and the morning with you. It'll be fun. I can hold your hair back as you vomit and you can try to feebly cuddle with me as you live out your pitiful existence."

She glared at him, but coughed again and sighed, "Just get her, lunatic. I miss you already."

"I'll be there before you can say straight fire."


End file.
